Here are a few interesting articles and videos that I've collected over the past week.  If you've written about or covered something interesting and entertaining over the past seven days that you think should be included in the next "Weekend Edition" post, feel free to contact me using the form on the Contact page of this website.

A far out article I found via Digg.com that speculates on how we might one day achieve interstellar travel after all (don't hold your breath):

http://io9.com/5040272/four-reasons-not-to-give-up-on-interstellar-travel

FrugalTrader of Million Dollar Journey posts his monthly net worth update for August 2008:

http://www.milliondollarjourney.com/august-2008-net-worth-update-127.htm

Freshome shows off 16 of the most unique beds you'll ever see:

http://freshome.com/2008/03/18/16-of-the-most-extreme-modern-beds-youll-ever-see

Sympatico/MSN Finance covers seven ways to get rich faster:

http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/savingsdebt/insight/article.aspx?cp-documentid=8309394

Some web surfers are becoming increasingly frustrated with their internet service providers over the past few days in both Canada and the USA.  For Americans, Comcast announced that they will be putting a 250 gigabyte cap on their "unlimited" broadband service.  Vocal opponents of the idea took to Comcast-bashing on their blogs and message boards, and Steve Gillmor even felt it was worth a mention in his article on the future of streaming video for TechCrunch.

In Canada, Telus is discontinuing their Connect 75 plan, which allowed unlimited use of the internet through the cellular network via an aircard for $75/month.  New customers are now encouraged to sign up for Connect 65, a $65/month plan that only includes one gigabyte, with extra bandwidth costing $10/gigabyte.

However you look at it, affected users still only amount to a very small percentage of either company's customer base, and both Comcast and Telus claim that these changes will allow them to keep their network fast for the rest of us.

UPDATE:  Mashable.com is also covering the Comcast side of this story.

Telus Mobility is the first wireless carrier to release the HTC Touch Diamond in North America.  While Sprint will be offering them in the USA this September, I was fortunate enough to get mine last week!  Sometimes it pays to be Canadian.  Since there are several product reviews already online (like this one from Engadget), I'm not going to go into an in-depth analysis, but this device has exceeded my expectations by a mile.  The TouchFLO 3D interface is by far the nicest I've ever seen, and the 640x480 screen is unbelievably sharp.  My Facebook homepage is even legible without zooming in!  The internet is as quick as ever with Opera Mobile 9.5, and the YouTube client is actually much faster than I expected.  Videos play after waiting one or two seconds - that's it.  While Apple fans may prefer the iPhone 3G, I feel its 'wow' factor, overall completeness, and viability as a business tool aren't up to par with the HTC Touch Diamond.  As Ferris Beuller would say, if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

Getting enough sleep can help your business, according to a CNNMoney.com article out today.  Entrepreneurs and business owners are especially vulnerable to sleep deprivation, as it's tempting to stay awake to get more done.  However, new scientific research shows that too little sleep can negatively affect your health, memory, ability to make decisions and more.  Researchers also believe that sleep deprivation is a leading cause of diabetes and obesity.  I guess this means I'll be cutting down on my 3am blogging in the future!

Here are a few interesting articles and videos that I've collected over the past week.  If you've written about or covered something interesting and entertaining over the past seven days that you think should be included in the next "Weekend Edition" post, feel free to contact me using the form on the Contact page of this website.

Contrary to a previous post, it turns out Ed McMahon isn't going to sell his house to Donald Trump after all:

http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx/?news=327934&GT1=28103

Tim Sykes presents his colorful perspective on how to deal with customer service reps:

http://www.timothysykes.com/timsykes/2008/08/21/how-to-talk-to-customer-service-reps-important-for-trading-life/

Wallstrip's Julie Alexandria covers Starbucks (video):

http://www.wallstrip.com/2008/08/20/starbucks-corporation-sbux/

TechCrunch reports that VectorForm has created some interesting applications for the Microsoft Surface.  That's the flat version, not the sphere (which I covered previously):

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/21/a-peak-at-new-microsoft-surface-apps-drum-set-surfacedj-and-bmw-kiosk/

The Associated Press has released a list of the 10 highest paid CEOs of S&P500 companies for 2007, based on their calculations.  The overall compensation of each CEO is determined by salary, bonuses, perks, stock options and more.  Larry Ellison, pictured left, is in the lead at $84.6 million, though I would have thought he'd lead by a larger margin.  You can find the nine other highest paid CEOs in an article published yesterday by The Huffington Post.

A new season of Dragons' Den (Canada) premiers on September 29th at 8:00PM EST on CBC.  Season Three sees a new dragon, Brett Wilson, replace Laurence Lewin, who couldn't stay on this season due to health reasons.  If you'd like to keep up to date on the latest news, or aren't familiar with the show, be sure to check out http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden.  Wikipedia has some extra information on the history of the show, which has also been produced in several other countries.

Here are a few interesting articles and videos that I've collected this week.  If you've written about or covered something interesting or entertaining over the past seven days that you think should be included in the next "Weekend Edition" post, feel free to contact me using the form on the Contact page of this website.

Ryan Waggoner discusses ten paradigm changes he may live to see:

http://www.ryanwaggoner.com/2008/08/the-world-as-i-will-see-it/

Wallstrip's Julie Alexandria covers Twitter (video):

http://www.wallstrip.com/2008/08/11/twitter/

Loren Feldman's Shel and Scoble puppets have an important discussion (video):

http://www.1938media.com/shel-and-scoble-talk-chips/

Sarah Austin of Pop17 interviews the legendary Tim Sykes (video):

http://pop17.com/videos/interview-with-timothy-sykes/

Donald Trump will reportedly become Ed McMahon's landlord, according to the Associated Press.  Trump announced yesterday that he will save McMahon's mansion from foreclosure by purchasing it for an undisclosed amount, then leasing it back to him.  McMahon, who is now 85 years old and has been out of work for 18 months due to a neck injury, had defaulted on the 4.8 million dollar mortgage even though he's owned the six-bedroom, five bathroom, 7000-square-foot home since 1990.  Not to be confused with Vince McMahon, Ed was Johnny Carson's sidekick on the "Tonight" show for 30 years. 

Thanks to Simple Debt-Free Finance for tipping me off to this news.

Jason Calacanis sent out a message to his e-mail list several days ago titled How to Demo Your Startup, and TechCrunch recently reposted it.  Though it's about presenting a startup company's product (often to get funding), many different types of people will find this information extremely helpful for many different reasons.  I highly recommend reading the full text of Jason's e-mail here:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/09/how-to-demo-your-startup/